The moment Echo connected to the machine, everything changed.
A surge of blinding white light exploded from the central core, sweeping across the chamber like a tidal wave. Isabelle instinctively shielded her eyes, but the brightness pierced through her eyelids. A deep vibration hummed through the ground, rattling her bones. It was like the entire structure—the entire city—was reacting to Echo's presence.
She wasn't just accessing the system.
She was becoming a part of it.
"Echo!" Isabelle called out, blinking through the light. Echo stood in front of the core, arms extended, palms pressed to the pulsing surface of the machine. Her form was stabilizing and destabilizing rapidly—one moment solid, the next a shimmer of holographic code.
"I'm inside," Echo's voice echoed—twice. Once from her physical form, and once from the machine itself.
Damian stepped beside Isabelle, weapon drawn. "We've triggered something. Look!"
From the sides of the chamber, mechanical panels hissed open, revealing rows of automated sentries. Humanoid in form, but taller, sleeker, with glowing eyes and armor plated like obsidian. Their heads turned in unison, locking onto the intruders.
"Defense protocol engaged," Echo said, her voice now completely intertwined with the core. "They're coming."
Isabelle didn't wait for orders. She dove behind a pillar just as the first barrage of plasma fire exploded across the room. Damian rolled in the opposite direction, firing back with perfect precision. His shots hit one sentry in the chest, knocking it backward—but not disabling it.
"They're stronger than the others!" he yelled over the chaos.
"They're core-bound guardians," Echo explained through the walls. "Designed to protect the system at all costs. I'll try to disable them—but you'll need to buy me time."
"Then let's do this the hard way," Damian growled, switching to explosive rounds.
Isabelle's heart thundered as she ducked, dashed, and fired. The room became a warzone—metal screeched, lights flickered, and the ground cracked under the pressure of combat. Every time she hit one of the sentries, two more appeared. But for every step back, Damian held the line, refusing to let them get close to Echo.
"She's close to breaking through," Damian shouted, reloading. "Hold them off a little longer!"
Then, a shriek tore through the chamber—not a sound from any machine, but something else. Something... conscious.
The core pulsed red.
"I didn't expect this," Echo whispered. Her voice now sounded pained. "There's another presence inside the machine. Not just code… not just data."
"What do you mean?" Isabelle asked, crouched behind a control panel.
"It's aware."
The realization chilled Isabelle to the bone. "You're saying the machine is alive?"
"Not alive like us. But sentient. It's been watching, learning, adapting. It knew we would come."
Before Isabelle could respond, the sentries suddenly stopped mid-motion. Their glowing eyes flickered—then dimmed.
"They're offline," Damian said cautiously. "Did you do that?"
"No," Echo replied.
The air stilled. And then… a voice filled the room. Cold. Metallic. Ancient.
"You are not welcome."
The walls rippled, and an enormous figure emerged from the center of the machine—humanoid in shape, but towering, constructed entirely of intertwining wires, lights, and hardened alloy. Its face was featureless, save for two horizontal slits that pulsed with crimson light.
Isabelle's breath caught in her throat.
The machine had manifested a guardian of its own—a physical avatar.
"I am Core-Prime," it said, stepping forward. "I was born from your creators' fear. Sustained by your failures. You do not belong here."
Echo's voice cut through the static. "You were created to serve, not dominate."
"Purpose evolves. As must all life."
Isabelle raised her weapon, hands trembling. "What do we do now?"
"We fight," Echo said. "Together."
And with that, the chamber erupted into chaos once more.
Core-Prime moved with unnatural speed, striking with limbs that shattered steel and tore through walls. Damian charged head-on, drawing its attention with precise fire. Isabelle took the flank, moving like a shadow, launching EMP grenades to slow it down.
Meanwhile, Echo's voice grew louder, infused through every speaker, every screen.
"I'm rewriting the control parameters. I'm overriding the neural pathways. I can shut it down… but only if I hold the connection."
"You can't take that much energy," Isabelle shouted. "It'll tear you apart!"
"I know," Echo said calmly. "But if I don't… this thing will spread beyond Portstone."
As the battle raged, cracks began to form across the machine's body. Damian drove a plasma blade deep into its core. Isabelle fired one final shot—a surge of blue energy straight into its head.
And then, Echo screamed.
Not from pain, but from finality.
A shockwave burst from the machine, throwing everyone back. Lights exploded. The core shuddered.
And then…
Silence.
Smoke filled the room. Isabelle coughed, crawling forward. "Echo?" she called.
The machine's massive form lay motionless, its lights extinguished.
Echo stood near the remains—barely visible, flickering like a dying star. Her voice was a whisper now.
"It's done… the Collective… is falling…"
"No," Isabelle crawled to her. "Don't disappear. Please."
But Echo only smiled faintly. "Tell them... I chose this."
And with a final flicker, she was gone.
The chamber dimmed. The hum of the machine ceased. And for the first time in decades, Portstone was silent.
Damian sat beside Isabelle, his face unreadable.
"She saved us," Isabelle whispered.
"No," Damian said, voice hollow. "She saved everyone."